Britain’s Easter getaway has been thrown into chaos, with crashes and surging holiday traffic combining to choke major motorways and leave drivers facing delays of up to 90 minutes and queues stretching for miles across the country.
On Good Friday (April 3), the UK’s road network came under intense pressure as millions set off for the long weekend, triggering widespread congestion on key routes including the M6, M61, M62, M20, M25, and M5.
Crash on M6 sparks 60-minute delays and seven-mile tailbacks
The most severe disruption has been reported on the M6 northbound in Lancashire, where a collision between Junction 32 (Preston) and Junction 33 (Lancaster South) forced the closure of one lane.
Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 11:30am, with National Highways confirming that delays quickly escalated from around 30 minutes to as much as 60 minutes, alongside nearly seven miles of congestion.
Traffic has been tailing back as far as Junction 28 at Leyland, with queues also affecting Junction 29 for the M65. The impact has spilled onto surrounding roads, with the A6 Garstang Road, London Road, New Hall Lane, London Way, and Higher Walton Road all experiencing heavy congestion as drivers attempt to reroute.
The disruption is hitting motorists heading towards major holiday destinations including Blackpool, the Lake District, and Scotland.
Further south, congestion has also been reported on the M6 in both directions near Charnock Richard services, adding to the overall pressure on the route.
The situation is compounded by delays on the M61 northbound, where traffic is backing up past Junction 9 towards the M65 as vehicles attempt to merge onto the already congested M6.
In West Yorkshire, an additional incident on the M62 westbound between Junction 23 (Huddersfield) and Junction 22 (Rishworth Moor) has created slow-moving traffic, worsening conditions across northern England.
Meanwhile, in the West Midlands, the M6 Toll has been closed northbound between Junction 6 (Brownhills Interchange) and Junction 11a (Saredon Interchange) following a serious crash, diverting even more vehicles onto alternative routes.
90-minute delays on M20 despite no accidents
In Kent, drivers heading towards the Eurotunnel are facing delays of up to 90 minutes on the M20 eastbound between Junction 11 (Hythe) and Junction 11A.
Notably, National Highways confirmed there are no incidents on this stretch, with congestion purely driven by the surge in Easter getaway traffic heading towards the South East coast.
Heavy congestion has also been recorded on the M25 and M5, reflecting the nationwide scale of the disruption as travel demand peaks across road, rail, air, and sea.
Travel experts had already warned of significant disruption over the Easter weekend, and Friday’s conditions suggest the network is already operating at or beyond capacity.
For many drivers, the result has been extended journey times, missed connections, and mounting frustration as gridlock builds across multiple regions simultaneously.
Authorities are urging motorists to check live updates, avoid peak travel times where possible, and allow significantly more time for journeys, with congestion expected to continue throughout the bank holiday weekend.
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